Philae isn’t lost just yet

February 2, 2015 5:32 PM

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While the European Space Agency (ESA) lost contact with their comet lander Philae in November, "there is good confidence" they'll be able to make contact once more. So says Stephan Ulamec, lander manager at the German Space Agency (DLR). Ulamec also warned that should the ESA get in contact with Philae via Rosetta, "it may be that they only get very limited periods of operation in the [dark] pocket, and they will have to plan for more modest science sequences." If Philae is able to reach out to Rosetta, that is.

Speaking with the BBC this week, Ulamec suggests that they've "seen several Philaes" recently, but that "that's the problem."